At present, conventional edge emitting semiconductor lasers are playing a more significant role in optical communication due to their high operating efficiency and modulation capabilities; however, conventional edge emitting semiconductor lasers have several short comings or problems, such as a large size, a high cost, as well as manufacturing difficulties, thus making conventional edge emitting lasers unsuitable for high volume manufacturing.
Recently, however, there is an increased interest in a new type of laser called a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL). The conventional VCSEL has a potential of several advantages, such as emitting light perpendicular to its die, providing a feasibility of array formation, integration with standard electronic components, as well as on-wafer testing. But, these potential advantages are not capable of being realized because the VCSEL has several problems, such as heat removal and fabrication complexity. Moreover, it should be understood that because of inadequate heat removal many other problems arise, such as reliability, die failure, and the like.
It can readily be seen that conventional edge emitting semiconductor lasers, as well as conventional VCSELs have several disadvantages and problems, thus not enabling their use in high volume manufacturing applications. Therefore, a VCSEL and method for making that removes heat from same, simplifies the fabrication process, reduces cost, with improved reliability would be highly desirable.